Retaining collar



U. S. EBERHARDT.

RETAINING COLLAR- APPLICATION FILED JULY 25.1919.

. 1,408,993. I v Patented Mar. 7, 1922.

2 SHEETS SHEET 1- INVE/V TOR A TTORNEY U. S. EBERHARDT.

RETAINING COLLAR- APPLICATION FILED JUL! 25, 1919.

1 ,408,99 Patented Mar. 7,1922;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR Mwgd WM' ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ULRICH: SETH EIBERHARDT, or MAI'LEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR 'ro NEWARKGEAR CUTTING MACHINE 60., OF NEWARK, NEW

JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF Patented Mar. '7, 1922.

Application filed July 25, 1919. Serial No. 313,348.

NEW JERSEY.

. I RETAINING COLLAR.

1 408 993 Specification of Letters Patent.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ULRICH SETH EBER- HARDT, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Maplewood, in the county of Essex and State ofNew Jersey, have -invented certain new and useful Improvements inRetaining Collars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates, generally, to retaining collars, such as areused to hold gears or other machine elements from movementlongitudinally of a shaft on which they are mounted, andLparticularlyrelates to means for positively securing the collar to the shaft and atthe same time providing for ready removal of the collar therefrom at thewill of the operator.

It has been the practice heretofore in this art to hold retainingcollars in place on the shaft by the use either of split pins or nuts.This has given rise to more or less delay and difiEiculty in changinggears when the occasion arose; and it is'one of the objects of thisinvention to avoid this difficulty and to provide means allowing of theready removal of the collar without the use of tools or other devices.Not only has the use of the collars heretofore employed given rise todifficulty in their removal, but it has also been the occasion ofconsiderable trouble resulting from the loosening and loss of theholding nut from its retaining position because of the vibrationof the sthe nut was mounted.

I have discovered that both difliculties referred to may be overcome byproviding a retaining collar which canbe locked into its retainingposition and removed therefrom simply by the pressure or action of thefingers of the operator, and which collar at the same time provides amuch more efiicient locking means than has heretofore been providedin'the devices that have been known and used.

The preferred, form of m invention con sists in a retaining collar o thedesired size which is provided with one or more movable locking membersmounted in recesses formed for the purpose in the body thereof, suchlocking members being accessible to the hand of the operator andnormally held by a spring or equivalent means to their locking positionin which they engage in a suitable recess or recesses formed on thesurface of the shaft on which the collar is mounted.

aft on which Preferably, the lockingv members extend across the lengthof the shaft in a direction substantially tangential thereto; and, inthe preferred form, the locking members are moved along their own axesinto and out of locking position. Other forms of the invention hereinillustrated show locking members which, instead of being movable alongthe r own lengths into and' out of locking position, are turned about apivot, the axis of which may be placed either parallel with ortransverse to the axis of the shaft on which the collar is used. In eachform of the invention shown, I make use of the most prominentcharacteristics referred to in the preferred form; that is, the lockingmember or members is movably mounted in the body portion of the collarmember and adapted to be engaged by to be moved out recess formed inlength thereof.

The nature of the invention will be best of its locking position in athe fingers of the operator the shaft transverse to the,

with the accompanying drawings, in which- Fig. 1 is a vertical sectionof a preferred form of retaining collar embodying m invention andshowing it in place on a s aft.

Fig. 2 is .an end elevation of the retaining collar shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the retaining collar shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 shows, in two views, a side elevation and an end View of the formof locking pin used in the preferred form of the invention.

Fig. .5 1 s a view correspondi to Fig. 1', and showing a modified form 0the inven- VIEWS.

In the drawings, I have shown at 20 a ortion of the frame-work of asuitable time ine in WhlCh' an enlarged portion 21 forms a hearing for ashaft 22 on which a gear 23 may be mounted, and which it is desired toretain in place on the said shaft in manner to permit of its readyremoval therefrom when it is desired to change gears for any desiredpurpose. 24: designates the retai ing collar embodying my invention,whic'.-, in this embodiment, is provided with looking ins 25 mounted toslide along their own engths in recesses 26 provided for the purpose inthe collar 24 in a tangential relation to the central opening 27 in thecollar, through which the shaft extends when the dollar is placedthereon. normally urge the pins to their outermost positions in whichshoulders 29 formed by notches 30 in the side of the pins, enter,preferably, opposite sides of a'circumferential groove 31 formed in theshaft adjacent the end thereof. In order to prevent the removal of thepinsfrom their positions in the collar, notches 32 are provided in saidpins with which stop pins 33 engage. In order to remove the collar fromthe shaft, it is necessary merely for the operator to grasp the collarin one hand and exert the pressure of his fingers inwardly on oppositesides of the collar, to thereby press the outwardly extending ends ofthe locking pins 25 and force' the locking shoulders 29 in 'oppositedirections out of the locking groove 31. This unlocks the collar, and itcan then be withdrawn from the shaft to permit the removal of the gear23 or other member which the retaining collar served to hold in place. Y

It will be noted that the outer extremities of the lockin pins, whichare engaged by the fingers o the o erator, take the same curvature asthat o the periphery of the collar so that the operator is aware that,when he has placed the pins in a flush position with relation to thecollar, the collar is in an unlocked position, and it is not necessaryfor him to see the collar in this operation, thereby facilitating theremoval of the collars in situations "where lighting is dim or lackingaltogether.

I have found that the arrangement of the locking pins in' the particularform described greatly facilitates the operation of removing thecollars. This arrangement naturally fits the hand of the operator andmakes it a very simple matter to force the pins inwardly against thepressure ofthe springs to their unlocking position. In other words, Ihave found that, by placing the pins in parallel relation to eachotherand in a tangential relation to the relatively small shaft member 22,the general effect is presented of pressing the pins inwardly inopposite radial directions with relation to the collar -member,

and this, produces a very effective arrangement for the operation of thepins.

In another form of the invention, which Suitable springs 28 I have shownin Figs. 5 and 6, I make use of onl a single locking pin 25 for holdingthe co lar'24. The latter, in this embodiment, contains oiling meanssuch as hole 34- arrangedto have its inner end project into an oilgroove 35 formed loilgitudinally with relation to the end of the shaftmember 36 on which this specific form of collar is used.

It will be seen that the shaft 36, instead of being provided with acircumferential groove 31, as in Fig. 1, is supplied with merely a.tangentiall arranged groove 37 with which the shoulder-29 on the lockingpin 25 engages to hold the collar in its locked position. The purpose ofthe groove 37 is to determine the angular position of the collar 24'with relation to the shaft in order to bring the oil hole and oil groovein line.

In another embodiment shown in Figs. 7 and 8,.instead of making use ofthe Ion-- gitudinally slidable pins which have been shown in the figuresalready described, I employ a pivoted locking member which consists ofa. locking bar 38 pivoted on a pin' 39 .extendin transversely of thecollar and longitudina 1y of the shaft on which the collar will beplaced. In this form of the invention, a spring 40, bearing'against thelocking bar 38, preferably outside of the position of the pivot pin 39,serves to force the looking end of the bar 38 into its position in thelocking groove 31 of the shaft 22. The position of the pin in itslocking position is substantially the same as that of the locking pinsalready referred to; and, in this'case also, one end of the lockinmember extends beyond'the'periphery of t e retaining collar in aposition to be engaged by the fingers of the operator .to move the baragainst the pressure of the spring 40 to 1015 thereby unlock the collar"and permit of its removal from the shaft. Y

In still another modification of the invention shown in Figs. 9. and 10,I show a locking pin 41.which is arranged-to rotate about its ownaxisinto and out of locking sition'. A circumferential groove 42, provi ednear the inner end'of the pin 41, is adapted to be engaged by aretaining pin 43 which serves to prevent the removal of the locking pinfrom its position in' the. collar, and at the same time permits of therotation of the pin about its' axis. It will be seen that the positionof the pin with relation to a shaft is such that the periphery of theshaft is intersected to a depth sufiicient to afford a secure protectionagainst movement of the collar longitudinally of the shaft; and, when inlooking position, thefpin is arranged to engage a groove formed in theshaft for the purlpose. In the position of the pin shown in 'ig. 9, itwill be seen that the same is disclosed in its locking relation; and,in. order to move the pin to its unlocked posisltlon, it is necessarymerely to grasp the knurled thumb piece 44 and turn to a position wherethe concave or notched portion 30 is turned about to the side of the pinadjacent the shaft, whereupon the collar can be instantly mounted orremoved. In order to hold the pin in its locked and released positions,a small plunger pin 45 is mounted in a recess 46 formed in the collar ina direction transverse to the length of the locking pin, so that themember 45 engages fiat faces 47 formed in the locking pin in oppositesides thereof. A spring 48 interposed between the plunger pin 45 and ascrew plug 49 serves to hold the plunger pin 45 in engagement with thelocking pin. This spring 48 is not sufficiently powerful, however, toprevent turning of the locking pin from either one of its alternativepositions.

It will be seen that I have provided a retaining collar which can beeasily placed in locking position and as easily removed therefrom, andthat the means provided for holding the retaining collar in place afforda positive lock that absolutely prevents removal of the collar from theshaft on which it is mounted, except by the willful act of the operator.

I I claim:

1. A retaining collar, comprising: a collar member arranged to be fittedto a shaft having a recess in the surface thereof, a movable lockingmember permanently retained in said collar under resilient control andadapted in its locking position to extend in a direction transverse thelength of said shaft and into said recess, whereby longitudinal movementof the collar with relation to the shaft is prevented;

2. A retaining collar, comprising: a collar member arranged to be fittedto a shaft having a recess in the surface thereof, a movable lockingmember permanently retained in said collar, resiliently actuated in thedirection of the recess and adapted in its locking position to extend ina direction transverse the length of said shaft and into said recess,and a spring normally holding the locking member in its locked position.3. A retaining collar, comprising: a collar member arranged to be fittedto a shaft having a recess in the surface thereof, a movable locking pinpermanently. retained in said collar in a position tangentiallyintersecting the surface of said shaft and adapted in its lockingposition to extend into said recess, and a cut-out portion in saidlocking member whereby. when said locking member is moved along its axisto bring the cut-out portion into alignment with said shaft, the collarmay be removed from said shaft.

4. A retaining collar, comprising: a collar member arranged to be fittedto a shaft having a, recess in the surface thereof. a movable lockingpin permanently retained in said collar in a position tangentiallyintersecting the surface of said shaft and adapted in its lockingposition to extend into said recess, a cut-out portion in said lockingmember whereby, when said locking member is moved along its axis tobring the cut-out portion into alignment with said shaft, the collar maybe removed from said shaft, and a spring member normally holding saidlooking member in a position in which said cutout portion is out ofalignment with said shaft to thereby lock the collar against movementwith relation to said shaft. v

5. A retaining collar, com rising: a collar member arranged to be fittetto a shaft having a circumferential groove in the surface thereof, apair of slidable locking pins permanently retained in said collar toengage the circumferential groove, said locking pins having extremitiesthereof project-ing beyond the periphery of said collar and providedwith cut-out grooves in the sides thereof, whereby said pins may bepressed inwardly by the fingers of the operator to bring the cut-outportions into alignment with said shaft to remove the pins out oflocking relation with the shaft and permit the removal of the collar.

6. A retaining collar, comprising: a collar member arranged to be fittedto a shaft having a circumferential groove in the surface thereof. apair of slidable locking pins permanently retained in said collar andarranged in a-parallel relation to each other to engage thecircumferential groove on opposite sides of said shaft. said lockingpins having extremities thereof projectin beyond the periphery of saidcollar ancf provided with cut-out grooves in the sides thereof, wherebysaid pins may be pressed inwardly by the fingers of the operator tobring the cut-out portions into alignment with said shaft to remove thepins out of locking relation with the shaftand permit the removal of thecollar.

7. A retaining collar, comprising: a collar member arranged to be fittedto a shaft having a circumferential groove in the surface thereof.slidable locking pins permanently retained'in said collar and arrangedto en gage said circumferential groove to lock the collar againstremoval from said shaft, said pins extending in opposite directionsbeyond the periphery of said collar. wherebv they may be manipulated bythe fingers of the operator to remove the pins into unlocked relation.and springs normally moving the pins into locking relation with saidshaft.

Signed at- Newark. in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey. this21st day of July. A. D. 1919.

ULRICH SETH EBERHARDT.

